From Frazzled to Fun

Last month I flew to Dallas and back for less than the cost of what it takes to fill up my car with gas!

How does the sound of a super cheap weekend trip sound to you?

Airlines like Spirit, Allegiant, and Frontier offer some unbelievable flight prices! Check it out.

But BEWARE! These airlines make most of their money on the a' la carte items, such as bags, seats, early boarding, snacks and drinks.

On my Spirit Airlines trip to Dallas, even if I had just added in a carry on bag, my travel costs would have increased by time and a half!

With some strategy and a little planning, you can hurdle right over those extra charges and maybe afford to take your whole family away for the weekend!

Because of this strategy, everyone from our family of 7 was able to fly from Phoenix to Dallas to see our college son perform when he had the leading role in his university's musicals.

After flying on two dozen...

I want to share with you a podcast that came out this week. 

I had the pleasure of chatting with Courtney Lowman of Journey of Ruth podcast on the topics of:

• questions to ask yourself when home organizing
• teamwork tactics and how the benefits can continue to bless you for years
• encouragement for mamas of newborns
• fun ways to get your kids to want to behave
• boundaries and screen time for kids
• gettin' 'er done as a mama but keeping it fun

If you want to feel encouraged, be more equipped to be intentional, and be inspired to return to the fun mom you know you really are, Courtney and I invite you to listen in (also includes a link to watch on YouTube).

It was baking day. Dillon and Derek, ages five and six, put on their favorite baking aprons, and we were ready to begin our bread making.

The boys meticulously measured the yeast, flour, sugar, and salt into two bread makers with dreams of sweet rolls we would enjoy.

I was disappointed when I went to get the oil from the pantry and remembered I was almost out. As I tilted the container, it looked like we had a tablespoon of oil at the most. We needed two-thirds of a cup.

"Oh no! I'm so sorry, guys! I forgot we were out of oil," I said. "We're not going to be able to finish these recipes today."

Their eyes cast downward. Then my six-year-old looked at me and said, "Remember that story about the woman who needed the oil to bake with?"

I took a deep breath and hesitantly said, "In the Bible?" By this time, both boys were excitedly nodding their heads with anticipation. The ball was in my court. "So what you are saying is that we should pray, and the Lord will multiply our oil like He...

Here's a good word for the times, from Alex Cravens. I agree with him and want to spread this faith-filled word! I hope we will all, no matter how difficult, take it to heart:

• Organized 19 areas in her home and posted before and after photos in the group
• Sons organized and maintained their bedrooms 15 min/day 
• Created cool family slogan to boost morale
• Wrote notes of appreciation to her family members commending their work
• Honored accomplishments with a...

More than two hundred hours of creative fun. That was what Elisha Scarborough, one of the Coach Mom Tribe kids, pulled off last month during the Unplug & Create Challenge.

But he wasn't the only one. Coach Mom Tribe kids earned a total of more than 5,000 stars, with each star equating 15 minutes of non-screen creative play. That's more than 1,000 hours documented of creative fun in the month of July.

With a goal to help moms get kids off screens this summer and into more enriching activities, last month the focus of the Coach Mom Tribe was a challenge designed just for the kids!

The Challenge was to do as many creative activities as they could in the month of July.  The object:

• greatly reduce brain-numbing screen time spent on things like iPads, phones, video games & TV
• exercise their brains 
• have fun

While I gave them an extensive list of almost thirty fun and creative things they could do, they put my ideas in the dust with the fun things they found to do...

Imagine the map of the United States of America decked out in red, white & blue and lounging on a long couch as the doctor sits beside taking notes. "Doctor, I'm afraid I'm in a bit of an identity crisis," it said.

While identity crises typically happen for teens, I believe events the last years have landed the United States of America in its own identity crisis.

Identity Crisis (n): A developmental event that involves a person questioning their sense of self or place in this world.

Could we agree that the past years' events have left our country questioning its sense of self and place in this world? 

Quotes from our Founding Fathers clearly show our foundation and identity. Research of Founding Fathers' writings shows they considered God and the Bible an important part of government and that America was founded in partnership with, and under, God.

George Washington, the first President of the United States, is a great example. He once wrote,"Of all the...

We are in the midst of an "Unplug From Screens & Create" Challenge in the Coach Mom Tribe this month, complete with a grand prize incentive.

I'm so excited about the great non-screen things that the kids are doing! Cooking/baking, climbing trees, walking dogs, making homemade "hurdles" to practice with, harvesting garden veggies, creating robot costumes out of extra boxes, making edible slime, even inventing some homemade mouse traps to serve the family!

Would you like to get your kids off screens and on to beneficial activities?

Here are 12 of the many ideas I had for my Coach Mom Tribe kids:

1. Play outside in sprinkler
2. Write a letter to your grandparents
3. Speed stack cups (can buy online)
4. Make inventions out of recyclable materials such as buttons, bottle caps, yarn, leather strips, wire, boxes, etc. 
5. Write a poem
6. Collect insects, leaves, grass, etc. and study them under a microscope or magnifying glass
7. Cut...

A few reflections you might share with your children on what makes America so beautiful and praiseworthy...

The U.S.A. is the only country, ever, (including ancient and modern day Israel), to be founded on an idea and not an ethnicity.

Our founders boldly declared this idea in the Declaration of Independence: "We hold these truths to be self evident. That all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness."

It is clear that they believed that the God of the Bible was involved in the birth of our nation. In the Declaration of Independence they used words like "Creator", "Supreme Judge of the World", "Nature's God", and "Divine Providence".

We can also see the same theme in countless writings of historians.

• In his private journal, George Washington gave credit to the "finger of Providence" when it came to both the formation...

It's shameful. 

 

America's local and state law enforcement officers have suffered so much negativity and hate by a small but powerful minority this last year.

 

Though this group is small, with the voice of media, they have campaigned to try to turn America against the ones who put their lives on the line every day to protect us.

 

How ludicrous is that?

 

Not only do our law enforcement officers deserve our honor and respect, we need to be intentional to teach our children the importance of  honoring and respecting those who uphold the law in our communities.

 

The American Family Association has initiated a Day of Prayer and Appreciation For Law Enforcement, slated for Sunday, June 13. 

 

Let's get behind this!

 

This is a great way for us to let them know we appreciate their work.

These are some ways we can get involved: 

PRAY
As you gather for your main family meal on Sunday, pray for law...